Even after all the turmoil 2011 brought to sports, what with the NBA and NFL players and owners huddling with lawyers and accountants, more unsettling reports of brains ravaged by hard hits, and college players being given cash, tattoos, access to strip clubs and pretty much anything else you can imagine, the games still mattered.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida State rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit and used a pair of touchdown passes by E.J. Manuel and two field goals from Dustin Hopkins to slip past Notre Dame, 18-14, in the Champs Sports Bowl on Thursday night.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Missouri and Texas A&M will play their first Southeastern Conference games at home Sept. 8, and Alabama will visit LSU in a rematch of the Bowl Championship Series national championship Nov. 3.

NEWARK, N.J. - Marvin Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks opened a double-digit lead early and cruised to a 106-70 victory over the sluggish Nets on Tuesday night in their final home opener in New Jersey.

A new year is fast approaching and there are plenty of sporting adventures for every month of the year. What follows are my top suggestions for keeping your outdoor calendar full of cool things to do throughout the year. Of course, some of these can be done at different times of the year but what I'm giving you is a schedule that will help you get to all of them at the peak times. Some also require advance planning and there's no time like the present to pencil in the dates and make sure your arrangements are in ...